RS Guidebooks price ratings for hotel and restaurants

There should be a key in the guidebook that tells you what range the different dollar signs cover. The cicchetti prices described match what I found in March 2017.

Another way to get a better idea is to take a couple of the hotels mentioned, and look up their rates for the time you want to visit this year online. That should help you get a range. Same for restaurants - many have menus posted online. Prices can vary considerably in restaurants, fresh seafood dishes may be very expensive while simple pasta dishes may be quite reasonable.

The key to ratings is now inside the front cover of Italy 2018 and other new editions.

I don't have the current version of the Italy book handy, but...look on (or near) the "Eating in (place name)" page for a key (typically in a box) - should be easy to find. It'll say something like...

$ Budget: Under €20
$$ Moderate: €20-€50
$$$ Pricier: €50-€100
$$$$ Splurge: over €100

(numbers above are made up/pulled from thin air; look for real numbers in the book)

You should find such a list (with explanation for what is/isn't usually included in that price) in every section.

Personally, I do a lot of trip planning, but I don't plan specific restaurants in advance. More like "Getting hungry, dear? What do you feel like eating?" then either look around or refer to the book (often both).

Thank you! I am reading the guidebook on my kindle app and completely passed by the key in my excitement to start reading!

I am super excited to get this planning started!

Googling food blogs of locals or travelers to the places you are going is a great way to find restaurants also. People who like food and write about what they enjoy or not about places can give you some great ideas for specific places or things about local cuisine.

Googling food blogs of locals or travelers to the places you are going is a great way to find restaurants also.

Just be aware that "bloggers" and reviewers often (usually?) have an agenda they are not real honest about (ie many, possibly most, "reviews" one sees online are paid for, either directly or indirectly).

I'm not saying there are no sincere reviews online (there certainly are) but it can be hard to distinguish the honest ones from the shills and bots.

Apropos of nothing, I don't have a symbol for Euro on my keyboard. Is there a special symbol code to display the Euro symbol?

Regarding € symbol -- on my Android phone it's in the second level of numeric keys but when I type on the ancient laptop I just say "E50" and hope it's understandable in context.

If you're on a Windows machine and want to get the €: press and hold the Alt key, and then type 0128 on the number keypad (not the numbers on top of the letters; you must use the numbers to the right side of the letters). Then release the Alt key, and voila!

There are hundreds of these; here are some common ones I use on this board:

£ - Alt 156
ü - Alt 129
ö - Alt 148
ä - Atl 132
ñ - Alt 164
é - Alt 130
ç - Alt 135

On a virtual keyboard, like a smartphone or tablet, just press and hold the "likely letter," and the option should show. So, for ü, press and hold u; for ç, press and hold c. You can then go into the Symbol menu for characters like £ and €.

I know there are ways to get special characters on Macs, but I don't know details.

On my old laptop keyboard € is Alt 0128

Do yourself a favor and don't rely on only one guidebook for sightseeing, hotels, and restaurants.

For hotels, look at the reviews on TripAdvisor or even better Booking.com. Anyone can write a review on TripAdvisor but only people who have stayed at the hotel can write a review on Booking.com (You don't have to book through them.) Remember also that guidebooks are written months before publication so prices may be outdated.

If you only eat in guidebook recommended restaurants then you will be eating with other guidebook readers and rarely locals.

Use this board as a resource. Many of us are experienced European travelers and will steer you in the right direction.

Do yourself a favor and don't rely on only one guidebook for
sightseeing, hotels, and restaurants.

Good advice from Frank, Valerie. Guidebooks are great for overviews of attractions (don't rely on them for hours/entry fees as those can change after publication), maps, suggested walks, traveler tips, etc. but you'll find a much, much bigger selection of hotels and restaurants online. Booking.com is my go-to for hotels as well as his, and I'll double-check accommodations of interest on T.A. as it offers candid photos of the property taken by guests. It's really not difficult to sort possibly fake reviews from the genuine on that one, and it's helpful to see pictures which haven't been prettied-up for ad purposes.

LOL, I tend to run the other way when the "Q" word is used a little too often. "Quaint" carries a load of negative baggage for this traveler but we're all different so it might be opposite for you. :O)

Anyway, these sites have functions which allow you to drill down to desired price, amenities and location so you can discard properties/ you know you DON"T want or can't afford. The same goes for restaurants prices and cuisine types. Also, you can search the RS forums to check out many more accommodations and/or restaurants members recommend than are in the book. Just choose forum results 1 or 2 years and newer and not those from many years back.

I don't think I've ever even looked at the hotel, restaurant or shopping sections of any guidebook, and some folks rip them out of a book entirely to make them lighter/less bulky to carry.

Totally agree with Kathy about the word quaint! Urrggh. But I would also add the word 'cute' that should only be used for babies, puppies or kittens......

But I would also add the word 'cute' that should only be used for
babies, puppies or kittens......

Haha, Caro! I'm with you on THAT one too! Blech.